Topical Encyclopedia
In the Bible, the scorpion is mentioned as a symbol of danger and adversity, often associated with the wilderness and desolate places. The scorpion is a small arachnid known for its venomous sting, which can cause significant pain and, in some cases, be life-threatening. The biblical references to scorpions highlight their perilous nature and serve as metaphors for spiritual and physical challenges.
Old Testament ReferencesThe scorpion is first mentioned in the context of the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites. In
Deuteronomy 8:15, Moses reminds the Israelites of God's provision and protection during their journey through the desert: "He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions." Here, scorpions are depicted as part of the harsh and dangerous environment from which God delivered His people.
In
Ezekiel 2:6, God warns the prophet Ezekiel about the rebellious nature of the people to whom he is sent: "And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or be dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house." The scorpions symbolize the hostility and opposition Ezekiel would face, emphasizing the need for courage and reliance on God's strength.
New Testament ReferencesIn the New Testament, scorpions are mentioned in the context of spiritual authority and protection. In
Luke 10:19, Jesus assures His disciples of their power over demonic forces: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." Here, scorpions represent the spiritual adversaries and challenges that believers may encounter, with the promise of divine protection and victory through Christ.
Additionally, in
Revelation 9:3-10, scorpions are part of the apocalyptic imagery describing the judgment and torment unleashed upon the earth. The passage describes locusts with the power of scorpions, emphasizing the severity and intensity of the plagues during the end times.
Symbolism and InterpretationThroughout Scripture, scorpions symbolize danger, adversity, and spiritual opposition. They serve as reminders of the trials and challenges faced by God's people, both in the physical and spiritual realms. The biblical portrayal of scorpions underscores the need for faith, reliance on God's protection, and the assurance of victory over evil through divine authority.
In a broader theological context, the scorpion's presence in Scripture highlights the reality of spiritual warfare and the believer's call to stand firm against the forces of darkness. The imagery of scorpions in the Bible serves as a powerful metaphor for the trials that test faith and the ultimate triumph of God's power over all forms of evil.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Scorpion(Heb.akrab), a well known venomous insect of hot climates, shaped much like a lobster. It is usually not more than two or three inches long, but in tropical climates is sometimes six inches in length. The wilderness of Sinai is especially alluded to as being inhabited by scorpions at the time of the exodus, and to this day these animals are common in the same district, as well as in some parts of Palestine. Scorpions are generally found in dry and in dark places, under stones and in ruins. They are carnivorous in the habits, and move along in a threatening attitude, with the tail elevated. The sting, which is situated at the end of the tail, has at its base a gland that secretes a poisonous fluid, which is discharged into the wound by two minute orifices at its extremity. In hot climates the sting often occasions much suffering, and sometimes alarming symptoms. The "scorpions" of (1 Kings 12:1,14;2 Chronicles 10:11,14) have clearly no allusion whatever to the animal, but to some instrument of scourging --unless indeed the expression is a mere figure.
Scripture Alphabet Of Animals
ScorpionThis frightful creature is several times mentioned in the Bible. It is the largest among insects, and more dangerous than any of them. It is sometimes found in Europe, and is there about four inches long; but those of hot countries are sometimes more than a foot in length.
The scorpion is very easily made angry, and then its sting is terrible; it very often causes death, but not always. InRevelation 9:5,6, we read,"And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man; and in those days shall men seek death and shall not find it: and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." This shows that the pain caused by their sting is very great. When a person has been stung by a scorpion, the part around the wound swells and becomes very painful, the hands and feet become cold, the skin is pale, and there is a feeling as though there were needles in every part of it. This pain often increases and rages until the person dies in great suffering.
It is well for man that scorpions destroy each other as readily as they do animals of a different kind. It is said that a hundred were once put together under a glass, where they immediately began to attack and kill each other; so that in a few days only fourteen were left alive. I have heard that if a circle of alcohol or spirit of any sort, is set on fire, and a scorpion placed within it so that he cannot get out on any side, he will sting himself so as to cause his death. I am not certain that this is true, and it would be a very cruel thing to try it even upon so dangerous an animal as the scorpion.
It seems that this creature was sometimes seen in the wilderness through which the children of Israel passed. When they had nearly reached the end of their journey, Moses reminded them to praise God for having kept them safely in so many dangers, while passing through"that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions and drought; where there was no water."
Our Savior asks,"If a son shall ask of his father an egg, will he give him a scorpion?" The scorpions in that country are about as large as an egg, and when rolled up look a little like one. Yet no father would be so wicked as to give one to his child instead of the egg which he needed for food.
Christ once said to his disciples, when they were going out to preach and to heal the diseases of the people,"Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." This was a very wonderful power; and whoever should see one of those disciples tread on the terrible scorpion without being hurt, would know that Christ was surely with him to take care of him.
ATS Bible Dictionary
ScorpionLuke 10:19, one of the largest and most malignant of all the insect tribes. It somewhat resembles the lobster in its general appearance, but is much more hideous. Those found in Southern Europe seldom exceed two inches in length; but in tropical climates it is not uncommon thing to meet with them five or six times as long. They live upon other insects, but kill and devour their own species also. Maupertuis put about a hundred of them together in the same glass and in a few days there remained but fourteen, which had killed and devoured all the rest. He enclosed a female scorpion in a glass vessel, and she was seen to devour her young as fast as they were born. There was only one of the number that escaped the general destruction by taking refuge on the back of its parent; and this soon after revenged the cause of its brethren, by killing the old one in its turn. Such is the terrible nature of this insect; and it is even found that when placed in circumstances of danger, from which it perceives no way of escape, it will sting itself to death. The passage most descriptive of the scorpion isRevelation 9:3-10, in which it is to be observed that the sting of these creatures was not to produce death, but pain so intense that the wretched sufferers should seek death,Revelation 9:6, rather than submit to its endurance. Dr. Shaw states that the sting of scorpions is not always fatal, the malignity of their venom being in proportion to their size and complexion.
The poison is injected by means of a sharp curved sting at the end of the six-jointed tail. It occasions great pain, inflammation, and hardness, with alternate chills and burning. These animals frequent dry and hot places, and lie under stones and in the crevices of old ruins. The Jews encountered them in the wilderness, De 8:15, and a range of cliffs across the hot valley south of the Dead Sea, called Acrabbim, or scorpions, appears to have been much infest be them. The scorpion of Judea, when curled up, greatly resembles an egg in size and shape; hence the comparison and the contrast inLuke 11:11,12. The scorpions which the haughty Rehoboam threatened to use instead of whips,1 Kings 12:11, were probably scourges armed with knobs like the joints of a scorpion's tail; and like the sting of that animal, occasioned extreme pain.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Any one of numerous species of pulmonate arachnids of the order Scorpiones, having a suctorial mouth, large claw-bearing palpi, and a caudal sting.
2. (n.) The pine or gray lizard (Sceloporus undulatus).
3. (n.) The scorpene.
4. (n.) A painful scourge.
5. (n.) A sign and constellation. See Scorpio.
6. (n.) An ancient military engine for hurling stones and other missiles.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SCORPIONskor'-pi-un (aqrabh; compare Arabic aqrab, "scorpion"; ma`aleh `aqrabbim, "the ascent of Akrabbim"; skorpios. Note that the Greek and Hebrew may be akin; compare, omitting the vowels, `krb and skrp): InDeuteronomy 8:15, we have, "who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents (nachash saraph) and scorpions (`aqrabh)." Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:11, 142 Chronicles 10:11, 14) says, "My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the children of Israel (2:6), and "Be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions." "The ascent of Akrabbim," the north end of Wadi-ul-`Arabah, South of the Dead Sea, is mentioned as a boundary 3 times (Numbers 34:4Joshua 15:3Judges 1:36). Jesus says to the Seventy (Luke 10:19), "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions," and again inLuke 11:12 He says, "Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?"
Note that we have here three doublets, the loaf and the stone, the fish and the serpent, and the egg and the scorpion, whereas in the passage in Matthew (7:9) we have only the loaf and stone and the fish and serpent. Encyclopedia Biblica (s.v. "Scorpion") ingeniously seeks to bring Luke into nearer agreement with Matthew by omitting from Luke the second doublet, i.e. the fish and the serpent, instancing several texts as authority for the omission, and reading opson, "fish," for oon, "egg."
InRevelation 9:2-10 there come out of the smoke of the abyss winged creatures ("locusts," akrides) like war-horses with crowns of gold, with the faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions, breastplates of iron, and with stinging tails like scorpions. In Ecclesiasticus 26:7 it is said of an evil wife, "He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion." In 1 Maccabees 6:51 we find mention of "pieces" skorpidia, diminutive of skorpios "to cast darts." In Plutarch skorpios is used in the same sense (Liddell and Scott, under the word skorpios).
In the passage cited from Deuteronomy, and probably also in the name "ascent of Akrabbim," we find references to the abundance of scorpions, especially in the warmer parts of the country. Though there is a Greek proverb, "Look for a scorpion under every stone," few would agree with the categorical statement of Tristram (NHB) that "every third stone is sure to conceal one." Nevertheless, campers and people sleeping on the ground need to exercise care in order to avoid their stings, which, though often exceedingly painful for several hours, are seldom fatal.
Scorpions are not properly insects, but belong with spiders, mites and ticks to the Arachnidae. The scorpions of Palestine are usually 2 or 3 inches long. The short cephalothorax bears a powerful pair of jaws, two long limbs terminating with pincers, which make the creature look like a small crayfish or lobster, and four pairs of legs. The rest of the body consists of the abdomen, a broad part continuous with the cephalothorax, and a slender part forming the long tail which terminates with the sting. The tail is usually carried curved over the back and is used for stinging; the prey into insensibility. Scorpions feed mostly on insects for which they lie in wait. The scorpion family is remarkable for having existed with very little change from the Silurian age to the present time.
It does not seem necessary to consider that the words of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:11, etc.) refer to a whip that was called a scorpion, but rather that as the sting of a scorpion is worse than the lash of a whip, so his treatment would be harsher than his father's.
Alfred Ely Day
Greek
4651. skorpios -- ascorpion... a
scorpion. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: skorpios Phonetic Spelling:
(skor-pee'-os) Short Definition: a
scorpion Definition: a
scorpion.
...3817. paio -- to strike, spec. to sting
... smite, strike. A primary verb; to hit (as if by a single blow and less violently
than tupto); specially, to sting (as ascorpion) -- smite, strike....
Strong's Hebrew
6137. aqrab --scorpion... 6136b, 6137. aqrab. 6138 .
scorpion. Transliteration: aqrab Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-rawb') Short Definition: scorpions.
...scorpion.
...Library
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <. Scorpiace. Antidote
for theScorpion's Sting Tertullian. Translated by Rev....
If theScorpion, Swinging his Tail in the Air...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <.... Chapter VII.
If thescorpion, swinging his tail in the air? If the...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <....
The Earth Brings Forth, as if by Suppuration...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <.... [8215] The earth brings forth,
as if by suppuration, great evil from the diminutivescorpion....
If, Therefore, it is Evident that from the Beginning this Kind of...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <....
Prayer Taught and Encouraged.
... serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him ascorpion?... body. The
scorpion is an insect somewhat similar to a small lobster....
Nor Should I Think it Needful to Discuss Whether God Pursues a...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <....
No Doubt the Apostle Admonishes the Romans to be Subject to all...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <....
Now, Then, the Epistles of the Apostles Also are Well Known. ...
Scorpiace. Antidote for theScorpion's Sting. <....
From St. Luke's Eleventh ChapterOther Evidence that Christ Comes...
... for bread, He gave them manna from heaven; and when they wanted flesh, He sent them
abundance of quails"not a serpent for a fish, nor for an egg ascorpion....
Thesaurus
Scorpion (6 Occurrences)... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
SCORPION. skor'-pi-un (aqrabh; compare Arabic
aqrab, "
scorpion"; ma`aleh `aqrabbim, "the ascent of Akrabbim"; skorpios.
...Egg (3 Occurrences)
... 10:14), of a bird (Deuteronomy 22:6), an ostrich (Job 39:14), the cockatrice (Isaiah
59:5). In Luke 11:12, an egg is contrasted with ascorpion, which is said...
Sting (5 Occurrences)
... sharp organ of offense and defense, especially when connected with a poison gland,
and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing; as the caudal sting of ascorpion...
Scorpions (9 Occurrences)
... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SCORPIONS, CHASTISING WITH. skor'-pi-unz. See PUNISHMENTS
3, (17);SCORPION. Multi-Version Concordance Scorpions (9 Occurrences)....
Zoology
... SIPHONAPTERA: Flea DIPTERA: Fly RHYNCHOTA; Louse, Scarlet-Worm ORTHOPTERA: Grasshopper,
Locust (sv INSECTS) Arachnida: Spider,Scorpion Coelenterata: Coral...
Wound (58 Occurrences)
... 5 And orders were given them not to put them to death, but to give them great pain
for five months: and their pain was as the pain from the wound of ascorpion...
Won't (144 Occurrences)
... (WEB). Luke 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won't give him ascorpion, will
he? (WEB). Luke 11:46 He said, "Woe to you lawyers also!...
Insects (17 Occurrences)
... See under the names of the respective insects. See alsoSCORPION and SPIDER, which
are not included here because they are not strictly insects. Alfred Ely Day....
Inflicts (7 Occurrences)
... Revelation 9:5 Their mission was not to kill, but to cause awful agony for five
months; and this agony was like that which ascorpion inflicts when it stings a...
Insect (6 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) One of the Insecta; esp., one of the Hexapoda. See Insecta. 2. (n.) Any
air-breathing arthropod, as a spider orscorpion. 3. (n.) Any small crustacean....
Resources
Why doesn't God respond when I cry out, “God, please help me!”? | GotQuestions.orgWhat are the three woes of Revelation? | GotQuestions.orgScorpion: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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